Need a bunch of stuff available on Google Express? Want a Google Home Mini? Well, then, this is serendipitous: until June 5, you can get a free Home Mini with a promo code when you buy stuff worth $125 or more on Google Express.

Alarms and timers are probably two of the things I use the Google Assistant for most often. Voice commands make setting them dead simple (especially important for the kitchen, when my hands are often covered in food), and I can use them on my phone, my Pixelbook, or one of my Google Homes.

The problem is that, for all the endpoint ubiquity of setting and managing these timers via the Assistant, I can't actually control or set timers for one device from another. That's kind of silly, and it's a feature I've been wanting for years now. If the appeal isn't obvious to you, let me just put it this way: Have you ever wanted to set an alarm or timer on your phone, only to have your Google Home respond to the query instead?

If you've been wishing you had bought more Google Home Minis back in 2017 when they were just $29.99 a pop, you're not alone. Costco recently offered a three-pack for $80, but that's since expired. But if you've got a cart of over $150 in items on eBay, you can score a free Home Mini at checkout. Can't beat free, right?

The Google Home Mini is probably the best value smart speaker you can buy. Not only do you get a fully-fledged Assistant experience, but you get okay sound out of it, too. Last Christmas, they went on sale for $30 each, which basically made them an impulse buy. Costco has had a 3-pack for a while now, which dipped down to $100 not too long ago (which was already a great deal). Now, you can pick up this bundle for a measly $80, almost half of what you would spend to buy three Home Minis separately at their $49 MSRP.

As a pleased owner of a Google Home Mini, I often find myself wondering why I didn't buy one or two more of these tiny smart speakers to scatter around our apartment unit. When I ask my wife what she thinks of getting some companions for our lone Mini, she aggressively asks "Why?" — and, well, that's the end of that. But now Costco is giving me some new ammunition, thanks to a deal offering members the chance to purchase a Google Home Mini (charcoal or chalk) three-pack for just $99.99, which is $15 off of the normal going price.

Asking a Google Home to set an alarm or reminder is a rudimentary use for one of those smart speakers. But it seems some users recently found that their Google Home failed to sound alarms and reminders that were set. Now Google is saying that a fix has been rolled out and those functions are working again.

Buying Google's gadgets can be very difficult if you live in a country where they're not officially available. Overpriced black markets, questionable imports, and difficulty of finding support are some of the issues you face. But after today, that won't be the case for Android and Google fans in Singapore as the official Store is now launched in their country.

Thanks to a wonderful error spotted in the UK, the shopping card in Google Search seems to think Google Home Mini is a 'Vintage Retro Biscuit Tin.' I'm sure bugs of this sort happen all the time, but it's especially funny that it's happened to one of Google's own devices.

Google's Find My Device service offers an invaluable tool for tracking down a missing phone or tablet, combining GPS positioning with an audible alert to let you quickly locate your missing hardware. And with tools to remotely lock or erase your device, it also helps ensure your data's safe until you get your hands back on your gear. But for as useful as it can be, you still need access to some device in order to perform the search, and especially if you keep your phone and laptop in the same bag, that can be a problem. Fortunately, it's also one that Google Home is ready to solve.

As well as having tons of practical uses, Google Home also offers plenty of fun little distractions. You can ask the Assistant to tell you jokes or facts, and even play games with it. Tie-ins were inevitable, and Google joined forces with Netflix for a Stranger Things game last year, in which you could chat with Dustin on his trusty walkie-talkie. Lost in Space is Netflix's latest hit show, and there's a new Google Home game to go with it.